Daily Calendar

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Mexican mover-and-shaker Manny Hernandez has no less than four major independent movies due out in 2014, including Pure Love with Charlene Amoia, and the supernatural thriller The Vanished.

Hernandez is anything but an overnight sensatiuon though, and like most actors had been pushing, pleading and silently performing for years before he got - what you some would call - a big break.

"I was a late bloomer", the Mexican-actor, whose early work included TVs Joey, said in a recent interview. "Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d be an actor or have anything to do with making movies, wasn’t even a thought in my mind. Then one day an actor friend of mine, Robert Silvera invited me to his acting class. I had nothing to do so I went and that was it. For the first time in my life I knew what I wanted to do… Can’t really say it’s been a long journey, twelve years in I feel like it’s all still new to me. At times it’s been wonderful or inspiring and like any other career or occupation other times it’s been really challenging and heartbreaking but I know in my heart this is what makes me feel alive."

All it takes is one person to recognize someone's talent, and in Hernandez's case it was filmmaker Eric Byler.

In 2006, Byler came up to Hernandez and told him he liked his work. So taken with his talent, Byler wrote Hernandez a role in his film Americanese.

“I was lucky enough to get a part in that film. It was the first film that helped me get my SAG card,” said the actor. “It made me realize that the more work you put out, the more work you’ll get. If you put your heart into it, someone else will see it and the right people will see it.”